5 Secrets of Highly Self-Motivated People

Do you ever see somebody and think, “That person is doing it right”? Well, chances are they have felt the same way about their own role models. This chain of inspiration goes on and on, passing from person to person and affording everyone the opportunity to learn and grow from others. When it comes to motivation, some people have a few tricks up their sleeves on how to stay inspired and driven in everything that they do. Without further ado, here are some bits of wisdom from some of the most self-motivated people out there.

1) Be Realistic
This may sound like a dream-crushing piece of advice, but it’s a critical step in the process of achieving your goals. Be realistic when you set goals for yourself. Otherwise, you’ll feel like you can never achieve them, which will lead to much less motivation.

2) Put the “Self” in Self-motivated
Yes, that means feeling like you’re being selfish sometimes. Don’t view it as a negative thing, though. Rather than calling it selfish, call it self-care. If we only focus on other people’s needs and goals, we can quickly lose motivation to achieve our own, often due to exhaustion. You deserve to follow your big dreams too. But you can only keep the motivation to reach them when you are taking good care of yourself.

3) Have a Contingency Plan
If you feel like you’re making great progress and then an external factor completely out of your control swoops in and changes your plans, you may lose the incentive to keep going – all at once. Don’t let this happen! Studies show that people who plan for obstacles are more inclined to stick to their goals. In other words, don’t let anything rain on your parade-it’s your parade, so you can manage the storms.
4) Remember Your “Why”
There’s a reason for your motives in the first place. They didn’t appear out of thin air. Some people go through the motions without remembering that there is a meaning and a purpose to your goals and responsibilities. For example, if you are trying to write every day because you want to be a better communicator, keep this in mind when you’re struggling with grammar. It’s an intrinsic motivator that will help you reach internally to pull out all the inspiration that you first started with.

5) Change Things Up
Even when you love what you’re doing, there will be times when your motivation drops. When that happens, it’s time to change things up a bit. It doesn’t need to be a huge change, like quitting your job. It can be simple changes, like rearranging your office, modifying your schedule, or engaging with new people at lunch. The expression, “A change is as good as a rest,” is indeed true!